Murine scid cells complement ataxia-telangiectasia cells and show a normal post-irradiation response of DNA synthesis

NBS1 Knockdown by Small Interfering RNA Increases Ionizing Radiation Mutagenesis and Telomere Association in Human Cells

Hypomorphic mutations which lead to decreased function of the NBS1 gene are responsible for Nijmegen breakage syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive hereditary disorder that imparts an increased predisposition to development of malignancy. The NBS1 protein is a component of the MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 complex that plays a critical role in cellular responses to DNA damage and the maintenance of chromosomal integrity. Using small interfering RNA transfection, we have knocked down NBS1 protein levels and analyzed relevant phenotypes in two closely related human lymphoblastoid cell lines with different p53 status, namely wild-type TK6 and mutated WTK1. Both TK6 and WTK1 cells showed an increased level of ionizing radiation-induced mutation at the TK and HPRT loci, impaired phosphorylation of H2AX (gamma-H2AX), and impaired activation of the cell cycle checkpoint regulating kinase, Chk2. In TK6 cells, ionizing radiation-induced accumulation of p53/p21 and apoptosis were reduced. There was a differential response to ionizing radiation-induced cell killing between TK6 and WTK1 cells after NBS1 knockdown; TK6 cells were more resistant to killing, whereas WTK1 cells were more sensitive. NBS1 deficiency also resulted in a significant increase in telomere association that was independent of radiation exposure and p53 status. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that NBS1 deficiency in human cells leads to hypermutability and telomere associations, phenotypes that may contribute to the cancer predisposition seen among patients with this disease.

Nijmegen breakage syndrome gene, NBS1, and molecular links to factors for genome stability

DNA double-strand breaks represent the most potentially serious damage to a genome and hence, at least two pathways of DNA repair have evolved; namely, homologous recombination repair and non-homologous end joining. Defects in both rejoining processes result in genomic instability including chromosome rearrangements, LOH and gene mutations, which may lead to development of malignancies. Nijmegen breakage syndrome is a recessive genetic disorder, characterized by elevated sensitivity to ionizing radiation that induces double-strand breaks, and high frequency of malignancies. NBS1, the product of the gene underlying the disease, forms a multimeric complex with hMRE11/hRAD50 nuclease and recruits them to the vicinity of sites of DNA damage by direct binding to phosphorylated histone H2AX. The combination of the highly-conserved NBS1 forkhead associated domain and BRCA1 C-terminus domain has a crucial role for recognition of damaged sites. Thereafter, the NBS1-complex proceeds to rejoin double-strand breaks predominantly by homologous recombination repair in vertebrates. This process collaborates with cell-cycle checkpoints at S and G2 phase to facilitate DNA repair. NBS1 is also associated with telomere maintenance and DNA replication. Based on recent knowledge regarding NBS1, we propose here a two-step binding mechanism for damage recognition by repair proteins, and describe the molecular links to factors for genome stability.

The many substrates and functions of ATM

As its name suggests, the ATM--'ataxia-telangiectasia, mutated'--gene is responsible for the rare disorder ataxia-telangiectasia. Patients show various abnormalities, mainly in their responses to DNA damage, but also in other cellular processes. Although it is hard to understand how a single gene product is involved in so many physiological processes, a clear picture is starting to emerge.

The catalytic subunit DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) facilitates recovery from radiation-induced inhibition of DNA replication

Exposure of cells to ionizing radiation inhibits DNA replication in a dose-dependent manner. The dose response is biphasic and the initial steep component reflects inhibition of replicon initiation thought to be mediated by activation of the S-phase checkpoint. In mammalian cells, inhibition of replicon initiation requires the ataxia telagiectasia mutated ( ATM ) gene, a member of the phosphatidyl inositol kinase-like (PIKL) family of protein kinases. We studied the effect on replicon initiation of another member of the PI-3 family of protein kinases, the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) by measuring either total DNA synthesis, or size distribution of nascent DNA using alkaline sucrose gradient centrifugation. Exposure of human cells proficient in DNA-PKcs (HeLa or M059-K) to 10 Gy inhibited replicon initiation in a time-dependent manner. Inhibition was at a maximum 1 h after irradiation and recovered at later times. Similar treatment of human cells deficient in DNA-PKcs (M059-J) inhibited replicon initiation to a similar level and with similar kinetics; however, no evidence for recovery, or only limited recovery, was observed for up to 8 h after irradiation. In addition a defect was observed in the maturation of nascent DNA. Similarly, a Chinese hamster cell line deficient in DNA-PKcs (irs-20) showed little evidence for recovery of DNA replication inhibition up to 6 h after irradiation, whereas the parental CHO cells showed significant recovery and an irs-20 derivative expressing the human DNA-PKcs complete recovery within 4 h. Normal kinetics of recovery were observed in xrs-5 cells, deficient in Ku80; in 180BR cells, deficient in DNA ligase IV; as well as XR-1 cells, deficient in XRCC4, an accessory factor of DNA ligase IV. Since all these cell lines share the DNA double strand break rejoining defect of M059-J and irs20 cells, the lack of recovery of DNA replication in the latter cells may not be attributed entirely to the prolonged presence of unrepaired DNA dsb. We propose that DNA-PKcs, in addition to its functions in the rejoining of DNA dsb and in DNA replication, also operates in a pathway that in normal cells facilitates recovery of DNA replication after irradiation.

Effects of the protein kinase inhibitors wortmannin and KN62 on cellular radiosensitivity and radiation-activated S phase and G1/S checkpoints in normal human fibroblasts

Wortmannin is a potent inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase and PI 3-kinase-related proteins (e.g. ATM), but it does not inhibit the activity of purified calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). In the present study, we compared the effects of wortmannin and the CaMKII inhibitor KN62 on the response of normal human dermal fibroblast cultures to gamma radiation. We demonstrate that wortmannin confers a phenotype on normal fibroblasts remarkably similar to that characteristic of cells homozygous for the ATM mutation. Thus wortmannin-treated normal fibroblasts exhibit increased sensitivity to radiation-induced cell killing, lack of temporary block in transition from G1 to S phase following irradiation (i.e. impaired G1/S checkpoint), and radioresistant DNA synthesis (i.e. impaired S phase checkpoint). Wortmannin-treated cultures display a diminished capacity for radiation-induced up-regulation of p53 protein and expression of p21WAF1, a p53-regulated gene involved in cell cycle arrest at the G1/S border; the treated cultures also exhibit decreased capacity for enhancement of CaMKII activity post-irradiation, known to be necessary for triggering the S phase checkpoint. We further demonstrate that KN62 confers a radioresistant DNA synthesis phenotype on normal fibroblasts and moderately potentiates their sensitivity to killing by gamma rays, without modulating G1/S checkpoint, p53 up-regulation and p21WAF1 expression following radiation exposure. We conclude that CaMKII is involved in the radiation responsive signalling pathway mediating S phase checkpoint but not in the p53-dependent pathway controlling G1/S checkpoint, and that a wortmannin-sensitive kinase functions upstream in both pathways.

Radiation induction of p53 in cells from Nijmegen breakage syndrome is defective but not similar to ataxia-telangiectasia

p53-mediated signal transduction after exposure to ionizing radiation was examined in cells from patients with Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS), an autosomal recessive disease characterized by microcephaly, immunodeficiency, predisposition to malignancy, and a high sensitivity to ionizing radiation. NBS cells accumulated p53 protein in a dose-dependent fashion, with a peak level 2 hrs after irradiation with 5 Gy. However, the maximal level of p53 protein in NBS cells was constantly lower than in normal cells. Moreover, this attenuation of p53 induction was confirmed by decreased levels of p21WAF1 protein, which is transcriptionally regulated by p53 protein. This defective induction of p53 protein in NBS is similar to that in ataxia-telangiectasia (AT), although the induced levels of p53 protein in NBS appeared to be the intermediate between normal cells and AT cells. This moderate p53 induction in NBS cells is consistent with the relatively mild radiation sensitivity and the abnormal cell cycle regulation post-irradiation, as present in NBS. Furthermore, all NBS cell lines used here exhibited time courses of p53 induction similar to normal cells, which is in contrast with p53 induction in AT cells, where the maximum induction shows a delay of approximately 2 hrs compared with normal cells. These evidences suggest a different function of each gene product in an upstream p53 response to radiation-induced DNA damage.

Regulation of the cell cycle following DNA damage in normal and Ataxia telangiectasia cells

A proportion of the population is exposed to acute doses of ionizing radiation through medical treatment or occupational accidents, with little knowledge of the immediate effects. At the cellular level, ionizing radiation leads to the activation of a genetic program which enables the cell to increase its chances of survival and to minimize detrimental manifestations of radiation damage. Cytotoxic stress due to ionizing radiation causes genetic instability, alterations in the cell cycle, apoptosis, or necrosis. Alterations in the G1, S and G2 phases of the cell cycle coincide with improved survival and genome stability. The main cellular factors which are activated by DNA damage and interfere with the cell cycle controls are: p53, delaying the transition through the G1-S boundary; p21WAF1/CIP1, preventing the entrance into S-phase; proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and replication protein A (RPA), blocking DNA replication; and the p53 variant protein p53 as together with the retinoblastoma protein (Rb), with less defined functions during the G2 phase of the cell cycle. By comparing a variety of radioresistant cell lines derived from radiosensitive ataxia telangiectasia cells with the parental cells, some essential mechanisms that allow cells to gain radioresistance have been identified. The results so far emphasise the importance of an adequate delay in the transition from G2 to M and the inhibition of DNA replication in the regulation of the cell cycle after exposure to ionizing radiation.

What to do at an end: DNA double-strand-break repair

Repairing chromosome breaks is essential to cell survival. A major lethal effect of ionizing radiation (IR) damage is the creation of double-strand DNA breaks. Recently, a number of mammalian cell mutants that are sensitive to IR damage have been described, revealing a unique repair pathway. The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is necessary for double-strand-break repair and lymphoid V(D)J recombination. DNA-PK consists of three subunits: the Ku autoantigen heterodimer and a kinase (DNA-PKCS) that is deficient in mouse scid mutant cells.

A novel type of X-ray-sensitive Chinese hamster cell mutant with radioresistant DNA synthesis and hampered DNA double-strand break repair

It has been shown that the Chinese hamster cell mutant V-C8 is sensitive to different DNA damaging agents, such as mitomycin C (MMC), alkylating agents, UV light, and X-rays. We found that V-C8 is also sensitive to the following radiomimetic agents: bleomycin (approximately 2-fold, based on D10 values), H2O2 (approximately 2-fold), streptonigrin (approximately 11-fold), and etoposide (approximately 8-fold). Two independent spontaneous MMC-resistant revertants isolated from V-C8 cells show a level of cell killing by X-rays, EMS, and UV light which is similar to that of wild-type cells, suggesting that the observed pattern of cross-sensitivity of V-C8 cells to a wide spectrum of DNA damaging agents results from a single mutation. V-C8 cells also display radioresistant DNA synthesis following gamma-irradiation which, however, remained almost unchanged in the V-C8 revertants. The measurement of the level and rate of repair of DNA single- and double-strand breaks (SSBs and DSBs, respectively) by the DNA elution technique showed that the V-C8 mutant has a slower repair of DSBs induced by gamma-rays. The described unique phenotype of V-C8 cells suggested that V-C8 represents a novel type of mutant amongst X-ray-sensitive hamster cell mutants. To confirm this, complementation analysis with other X-ray-sensitive mutants was performed. V-C8 cells were fused with EM9, XR-1, xrs5, sxi-1, V-3, V-E5, irs3, and BLM2 mutant cells, representing different complementation groups. All the obtained hybrids regained X-ray resistance (or bleomycin resistance in the case of V-C8/BLM2 hybrids) similar to that of wild-type cells, indicating that V-C8 represents a new complementation group. The results presented indicate that V-C8 is defective in a gene involved in a pathway operating in the responses to different DNA damaging agents in mammalian cells.

Differential radiosensitising effect of the scid mutation among tissues, studied using high and low dose rates: implications for prognostic indicators in radiotherapy

To assess whether radiation-sensitive or radiation-resistant individuals should in principle be predicted equally well using different cell types, the effect of the scid mutation on the radiosensitivity of colony-forming cells in different murine tissues was assessed using high and low dose-rates. At high dose-rate, the amount of radiosensitization due to the scid mutation was greater in epithelial cells of the intestine and the kidney than in haemopoietic and fibroblastoid cells in the bone marrow, when expressed as a dose reduction factor. However, this greater radiosensitization in intestine and kidney did not translate into bigger differences in SF2 (surviving fraction at 2 Gy) or SF3.5. This was because of the greater inherent radioresistance of the epithelial cells compared with the marrow cells, resulting in smaller changes in cell survival from a given dose. Reductions in cell survival due to the mutation increased with increasing dose as expected at high dose rate. The changes in SF2 and SF3.5 due to the scid mutation were not significantly increased by using low dose-rates, because of the tendency for the presence of some low dose-rate sparing in the scid cells as well as the marked amount observed in the wild-type cells. The implications for predictive testing in radiotherapy are that for genetic defects resulting in the same type of radiosensitization phenomenon shown here for scid cells, radiosensitive or radioresistant cell types may still give similar differentials in response due to the mutation when SF2 is used as an endpoint.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Similarities between human ataxia fibroblasts and murine SCID cells: high sensitivity to gamma rays and high frequency of methotrexate-induced DHFR gene amplification, but normal radiosensitivity to densely ionizing alpha particles

Two gamma-ray hypersensitive cell lines, human ataxia telangiectasia (AT) and murine severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) cells, proved to be very competent in amplifying their dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene under methotrexate selection stress. Over a period of months, methotrexate-resistant clones were obtained which were able to grow in progressively increasing methotrexate concentrations up to 1 mM. By then methotrexate-resistant AT and SCID cells had amplified their DHFR gene 6- and 30-fold, respectively, and showed very high DHFR mRNA expression. In contrast, related cells with normal radiosensitivity (human GM637 and mouse BALB/c fibroblasts) did not show DHFR gene amplification under comparable conditions. This correlation of the capacity of DHFR gene amplification and gamma-ray hypersensitivity in AT and SCID cells suggests that gene amplification may have a mechanism(s) in common with those involved in repair of gamma-radiation-induced damage. No difference in cell killing could be observed following exposure to densely ionizing alpha particles: AT and SCID cells exhibited comparable survival rates to GM637 and BALB/c cells, respectively.